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Larissa LeCoultre
General Information Larissa LeCoultre (born February 22, 3223) was a Dranian politician, businesswoman and former Prime Minister. She was also the founder and leader of the Grand National Party, a libertarian political party. She served as Lord Chancellor of Dranland from 3290 to 3299. Throughout her career, she was considered one of the most influential political figures of her time. Life and Politics 'Early Life' She was born in February 3223 in Santa Sharika, a coastal city in the region of Valdor. By the time of her birth, her father, a professor at the local university, had already died and her mother had to raise her alone. After graduating from university in economy in 3242, she applied for a job at a multinational hotel chain. She soon became the manager of its local branch and managed to double its profits. In December 3243, she signed a peitition of several famous businesspeople to the government, urging the politicians to liberalize and deregulate the economic system to allow for more growth and prosperity. In January 3243, she was elected as a member of the municipial council of Santa Sharika as an independent candidate. She started working together with other libertarian-minded representatives and soon made the decision to found an own party in order to create a political platform to promote her ideas. In March 3243, she officially founded the Grand National Party. The party's manifesto was typically libertarian, aiming for less government, individualism, lower taxes and economic freedom. The GNP soon rose to over a million members, particularly members of the upper class, businesspersons and the urban population. The party was also welcomed by parts of the rural population of Dranland, because it had some conservative sections in its agenda as well, such as the preservation of the family and the cultural heritage of the nation. She also managed to convince some of her political allies in the municipal council to join her party. The GNP soon held over 100 of the 1000 regional seats in the country. On the first GNP Party Convention in March 3243 Larissa LeCoultre said that she would lead her party in the next parliamentary elections to be held in 3246. She said that her goal was to win a considerable number of seats: "Our country needs a new perspective made up by economic and social freedom instead of overregulation and big government. This is what we will offer the people of Dranland, and I'm hoping for their broad support." 'As Prime Minister (3247-3254)' The election of 3246 resulted in a crushing victory for the GNP. Spontanous celebrations of GNP supporters emerged all over the nation and Larissa LeCoultre was likely to become the next Prime Minister of Dranland. LeCoultre herself scored an overwhelming success in her home constituency Santa Sharika, winning 65.76% of the popular vote. In her victory speech, she said that she would establish a liberal, democratic system and a capitalist economy as the next Head of Government. She also attacked the current Head of State, Adolf Frederick Drexler (NSP), who acted as an autocratic dictator: "Mr. Drexler has lost his legitimation. This election result shows that the people want freedom and democracy instead of repression and authoritarianism. If my party manages to find a majority for an amendment of the constitution, we will bring him down and let the people elect their highest representative directly in a democratic process." However, her plans to bring Drexler down failed, as the RDP and the PRG insisted on a monarchy instead of democratically electing a president. 'Reform Agenda' In January 3247, she became the Prime Minister of Dranland by forming a coalition with the PRG. Together with her ministers, she immediately initiated reforms to introduce capitalist market policies, a free trade system and more social freedoms to the nation. Her government massively deregulated the economy and abolished several restrictions on businesses, while also taking a firm internationalist stance on foreign policy to establish diplomatic and economic relationships with other nations around the globe. The GNP-led government also (partially) privatized health care, infrastructure and education, which would, according to LeCoultre, "immediately lead to a balanced budget." Her government also legalized interracial and homosexual marriages and repealed the "don't ask, don't tell"-policy in the military. However, she also took some defeats: The the targeted ratification of the Dundorfian Diplomatic Relations Treaty failed because this required a 2/3 majority and the opposition complained about not being involved in a discussion process before holding a vote over the bill and subsequently astained from the vote. However, she launched a second attempt where the treaty was eventually ratified with RDP-support. 'Restoration of the Monarchy and further Reforms' In her campaign for the elections of 3250, she assured to maintain her reform course. Her main election promise was to cut taxes for corporations from 20 to 15 percent. She also pointed out the economic boom that the country experienced during her tenure and the fall of unemployment. Voters eventually endorsed her cabinet, with the GNP winning 42.61% of the popular vote. After the elections and the collapse of the NSP, she surprisingly proposed a bill that aimed to re-establish the monarchy under the deposed king Cristián I of Drania, despite having opposed this in the past. Asked for her reasons, she stated: "We cannot accept that fact that Adolf Frederick Drexler still acts as Head of State despite the fact that his party has just collapsed and he lacks the support of the people. I have experienced that there is a desire to bring back the monarchy, and I therefore follow the will of the people." After Cristián I of Drania resigned in favour of Crown Princess Victoria shortly after he re-assumed the throne due to his bad health and high age, LeCoultre launched a resolution giving Victoria the democratic legitimation to succeed him. At the end of her second tenure, her government drafted a radical liberalization bill removing all restrictions on industrial hemp, prositution and firworks. The total prohibition of abortion was also repealed and abortion was legalized in the first trimester. Furthermore, her government privatized the national library and museum system as well as abolishing the state's hegemony on cultural preservation, which is not in the hands of private organizations and companies. In May 3253, Larissa LeCoultre resigned as Chairwoman of the GNP, after leading the party for ten years. She also stated that she would not run for Prime Minister in the next elections again. On the GNP Party Convention, she said: "Ten years as Chairwoman of my party and 7 years as Prime Minister are sufficient. Together we have democratized the nation, liberalized the market, cut taxes and advocated maximum social and economic freedom. We have accomplished a lot for the benefit of the people, but a good politician knows when it is time to quit." As her successor, she presented Shadow Minister for Internal Affairs Jack Caddock. Polls showed that many people regretted her decision and that she was still very popular, enjoying an approval rate of over 70%. Her legacy was seen very positive by the general public, especially her social and economic reforms and the return to a liberal democracy. Some of her measures, however, such as the legalization of drugs and gambling and the privatization of infrastructure, education and health care were seen more controversial, but support overweighed in every case. 'As Speaker of the Parliament (3263-3289)' Larissa LeCoultre declared that she would still serve as an MP for Santa Sharika after her tenure as Prime Minister if she got re-elected in her home constituency. The elections of 3254 were a landslide victory for the GNP, winning 56% of the vote. Analysts said that this was also due to the enduring popularity of LeCoultre. After the results came in, she congratulated her successor Jack Caddock and assured that she would support him during his upcoming tenure as Prime Minister. LeCoultre herself was easily re-elected in her constituency, winning 80% of the vote. She was offered to become the new Minister of Trade and Industry in Caddock's cabinet, but she declined. She is now serving as an ordinary MP in Dranland's parliament and is a member of several parliamentary committees. After the 3262 elections, in which the GNP won an absolute majority again, she became Speaker of the Parliament. Though she had advocated cooperation and bipartisanship during her first twelve years as speaker, she began to involve in political debates with the opposition during the re-election campaign of Prime Minister Gerardo Gutierrez. She also campaigned for him by making a joint appearance with former Prime Ministers Jack Caddock and Luigi Delgado at a huge GNP campaign event in Iglesia Mayor. In September 3274, she was awarded the position of honorary chairwoman of the GNP. In the following years, LeCoultre participated in acquiring a majority for a referendum on the monarchy. She co-authored the according bills and presented them to the Parliament, however she was reluctant to explicity speak out against the ruling House of Santiago, because she had helped to re-instate their rule as Prime Minister in the 3250s. However, it is assumed that she appreciated the referendum, which eventually led to the deposition of the Santiagos, because she had been a republican in her early years and never publically renounced these beliefs. 'As Head of State (3290-3299)' In October 3289, she announced her candidacy for the Head-of-State-elections. For this purpose, she resigned as speaker of the Parliament and left that position to Marina Clifford. She also explicity stated that she was running as a republican and not as a monarchist candidate, unlike Jong Won-Hee, who was the GNP's candidate in 3286. Despite having faced some difficulties throughout her campaign due to her alleged flip-flopping on the monarchy, she easily won the first round of the presidential race in September 3290 and defeated her opponent Catrina Alondo (Unity) by a margin of three percent in the runoff. As Head of State, she signed a reform launched by Prime Minister Eric Crawford and his government that aimed to reform the monarchy by making the Head of State an elective position permanently and at the same time keeping the monarchy with Ceridwen Cadwallader as new Queen. LeCoultre approved the reform and spoke out in its support, despite having called for a mere republic during her presidential bid. Following the approval of the reform in the Parliament, LeCoultre became the first Lord Chancellor of Drania. She declared seeking a second term in 3293 and managed to get re-elected in the elections held one year later, beating Unity's Catrina Alondo again in the run-off. After the election, she stated that she intended to shape Dranland's international profile more clearly. However, one year later, she had to face an election again, as the Parliament called for early elections in order to fill vacant seats. She scored an easy victory, beating Unity's Robert Carstairs 54-46%. in the runoff despite having trailed him clearly in the first round. In 3299, she announced that she would retire from politics after having finished the running tenure. 'Later Life' After the elections of 3299, LeCoultre left politics at age 76 and moved to her home town Santa Sharika, where she lives together with her husband. In 3310, she was part of the Dranish delegation for the "Voice of Freedom" summit in Solentia, where she held a speech regarding freedom and democracy in Drania and throughout the world. Larissa LeCoultre died ten years later in her residence in Santa Sharika. Following her death, many prominent politicians expressed their condolences and praised her merits. Political Views According to her self-description in a GNP leaflet for the 3246 elections, she considers herself a "conservative libertarian". She frequently spoke about economy, trade and taxes, and consistently espoused capitalism, free trade and low taxes. On social issues, she slightly leaned to the conservative side, as she had said in 3243 that she personally opposed gay marriage and abortion. However, she also stated that this was only her personal opinion and had no impact on her party's agenda, which supports gay marriage and (restricted) pro-choice policies. She also assured that she would not intend to outlaw gay marriage or abortion if she was in government: "I will not impose my personal views on the people of Dranland. I personally believe that abortion is wrong and marriage should be between a man and a woman, but everyone has the right to decide if he agress or disagrees with this stance." Legacy As the mastermind of the neoliberal reform programm that the GNP had launched after winning the elections of 3246, she is considered to have lastingly shaped the Dranish economy, which enjoyed record growth and investment following her reforms. She also replaced the old tax system with a flat tax for individuals and low rates for corporations in order to boost job creation, which led to a massive emerging of new businesses within the country. Together with her personal charisma, all of these factors contributed to the massive popularity she enjoyed among the people, which lasted throughout her whole political career. She was also credited for giving Dranland a more internationalist agenda on foreign policies. However, her credibility has taken a dent when she made a downright U-turn on the monarchy on several occasions. While advocating republicanism in the early 3240s, she re-introduced the monarchy ten years later and helped to abolish it again in the 3280s. Electoral History Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3246 Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3250 Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3246 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3250 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3254 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3258 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3262 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3266 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3270 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3274 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3278 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3282 (Santa Sharika district) Dranish Parliamentary Election, 3286 (Santa Sharika district) Private Life Larissa LeCoultre was married to Drs. Jack Hillsbrough, a dentist from Llwybr Hawl since 3342. She has two children: Marco LeCoultre, who later unsuccessfully ran for Lord Chancellor and works as a businessman since, and Jacqueline LeCoultre, who works as a teacher and was never involved in politics. Her granddaughter Marina LeCoultre was a GNP Chairwoman and Prime Minister of Dranland as well. Category:Dranian people Category:Conservative Category:Libertarianism Category:Heads of Government Category:Heads of State Category:Grand National Party (Dranland) politicians Category:GNP leaders